Halo 5: Guardians Review: Fast Co-op, Strong Multiplayer

Halo 5 Guardians review: the short version

Halo 5: Guardians, developed by 343 Industries and published by Microsoft Studios, arrived worldwide on October 27, 2015, as an Xbox One exclusive. It is the fastest Halo yet, with a campaign that plays very well and a story that does not play as well, plus a multiplayer suite that adds a big new mode. This Halo 5 Guardians review looks at all three and gives a verdict on who should buy it.

The game runs at 60 frames per second and moves faster than its predecessors. Its campaign puts players in the boots of two teams of Spartans, Halo's super soldiers, and its multiplayer splits into the traditional Arena and the new Warzone. Reviews of games are never fully impartial, and a long history with the series colors this one: the more Halo lore a player knows, the more the story rewards them.

The story: two teams, one Chief

The campaign follows two squads. Blue Team, led by Master Chief, searches for his best friend and AI Cortana, whose fate the events of Halo 4 left uncertain. At the start of Guardians, Cortana reaches out and calls him to find her. Chief will let nothing stand in his way, whether it is Covenant or Promethean. Fireteam Osiris, led by Spartan Locke, a former ONI agent who was introduced in the live-action series Nightfall, is sent to find Chief and Blue Team, because Chief has been declared AWOL. On the way, Osiris finds itself in the middle of a Covenant civil war and facing hordes of Prometheans.

Wikipedia places the story in 2558, eight months after Halo 4. Cortana's plan is to use the Guardians to forcibly disarm the galaxy, and the game ends on a cliffhanger.

The premise promises tension between the two teams, and that promise is not fully realized, for understandable reasons. Chief has been the hero for four games and is a sacred icon to fans, and his motives are pure: he wants to save a friend. Locke's team gets most of the screen time, so showing him as wrong would mean asking players to control someone they dislike for most of the game. Nobody wants that.

Where the story stumbles

The general theme is broad enough for most players to follow, but it does not do enough to carry newcomers to the ending. The details of the lore, from the games in the series and the books, shows and films around them, ask for background knowledge. Some players found the story confusing, and others found it engrossing. Enjoyment varies from person to person, and the Halo 5 Guardians campaign leans on players who already care.

Halo 5: Guardians at a glance

How Halo 5 plays

The saving grace of the campaign is that, story or not, it is a joy to play. Halo has always had tight controls, and 343 Industries took them further. Everything is responsive and quick. The added mobility, from unlimited sprint to sliding, boosting and clambering, makes this the fastest Halo to date.

Speed is the unifying idea. Every change, from sprint to clamber to the faster maps, nudges the player to keep moving, and the game rewards that instinct in both modes.

The steady 60 fps comes with a trade-off: dynamic resolution that targets 1080p and drops when it has to. In practice, it may not be the best-looking game available, but few console games look this good and run this well.

Because the story centers on two teams of four Spartans, the game supports drop-in, drop-out co-op for up to four players, or squad commands in single-player. Co-op is the best way to play. Each Spartan has a different starting loadout and perks, and shouting for help against a tough enemy and cheering when the kill lands is the highlight of the campaign.

Going solo has less punch. The game defaults to controlling Locke or Chief with the ability to issue simple orders: move to a spot, focus fire on an enemy or pick you up when you go down. The AI is not bad, but it needs a lot of micromanagement, and teammates sometimes stand motionless while you wait to be revived. The campaign is still fun alone, just far less fun than with friends.

Arena: close-quarters multiplayer

Online play is split into Arena and Warzone. Arena has the traditional suite of free-for-all, Swat and team slayer, along with Breakout, a 4 v 4 mode with a neutral flag and no respawns that frequently ends in tense one-on-one duels. The maps are smaller and closer in scale, and they recall Halo 2: each has distinct, recognizable areas, which makes callouts easier for teammates. The added movement brings speed and fluidity to competitive play.

Warzone: big battles with a twist

Warzone is the new addition. Teams of 12 face each other on a large map, joined by AI-controlled marines and neutral bosses. A team wins by reaching 1,000 victory points or by destroying the opposing core. Points come from killing players, holding one of three bases, or taking down the neutral bosses, who are worth anywhere from 25 to 150 points. If a team controls all three bases, the other team's core is exposed and can be destroyed for an instant win.

That mechanic keeps matches close until the last moment. Dominating from start to finish is possible, but most games swing back and forth, and it is hard to be truly out of a match before it ends.

Warzone also introduces Requisitions. During a match, players unlock more powerful weapons, vehicles and boosts, represented by Req levels, and spend Req points that accrue over time or faster with success. A player can only call in items for which they hold a Requisition, and Requisitions come in Req Packs opened outside a match, either with in-game currency or real money. The game gives out enough in-game currency that there is no need to spend real money, though microtransactions leave a bad taste for some players.

Verdict on Halo 5: Guardians

Review aggregator Metacritic lists Halo 5: Guardians at 84 out of 100 from 101 reviews, according to Wikipedia, with praise for the gameplay, visuals, level design and multiplayer and a divided response to the story, writing and ending. That split matches the game: the playing is better than the telling.

The sales picture was strong. According to Wikipedia, Frank O'Connor said the game sold 5 million copies in its first three months. A 2022 Game Informer retrospective called it the franchise's most controversial game, which fits the split between its gameplay praise and its story reaction. Both can be true at once: players loved how it played, and many fans argued about what it said.

For Halo veterans the recommendation is easy. The campaign rewards what they know, co-op is a pleasure, and the multiplayer packs the most energy the series has had since Halo 2. For newcomers, the story is the weak link, and a first-time player should read a short summary of the series so far before starting.

A few practical notes round out the picture. The game is rated Teen by the ESRB, the first mainline Halo shooter not rated Mature in the United States. Split-screen play and local networking were dropped, which matters for households that played earlier Halo games on one couch. And the online structure rewards time spent: Warzone's Requisition system gives a steady stream of unlocks to anyone who keeps playing.

Who should buy it? Series veterans who want the best-playing Halo in years, players with a group of friends to team up with, and anyone who wants a console shooter that holds 60 frames per second. Who might wait? Solo players who care most about a self-contained story, and anyone put off by Req Packs.

The cliffhanger ending also points toward more. An extra scene after the credits is unlocked by completing the campaign on Legendary difficulty, a reward that only the most dedicated players will see.

Sources

• Halo 5: Guardians, Wikipedia — release date, platforms and gameplay modes